Chiesa di San Giacomo al Grigliano

The construction began when a farmer found a tomb on Mount Grigliano, containing what was believed to be the remains of the Apostle James. The place of worship was intended to resemble the Basilica of Santa Anastasia and the church of San Fermo Maggiore, both in Verona.

The construction site was entrusted to Nicolò da Ferrara in 1395. The plan called for a Romanesque-Gothic basilica with five apse bays, but it was completed only about one-third (the presbytery area, with the five apses), because in 1407 Pope Gregory XII questioned the authenticity of the relics found on-site, thereby reducing donations for the construction of the building.

The current facade is the front of the five apses, closed with rough masonry below the pointed arches. Today, the main apse constitutes the true church, while the smaller ones have been used as a sacristy, as the base for the bell tower, and as part of the crypt.

The walls had been decorated with various frescoes, mainly depicting the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus, Saint James, and Saint John the Baptist, whose execution can be dated between the end of the 14th century and the beginning of the 15th century. These works, partly detached and relocated inside the church and in the nearby villa, have been attributed to Martino da Verona and his school. The most well-known of the frescoes is today on the left wall of the main apse, depicting the Madonna with Child, Saint James the Apostle, Saint Benedict of Norcia, and a saint.

In the central apse there are three altars, placed there by the Olivetans at the end of the 17th century. Among these, the main altar still houses the supposed relics found by the farmer, visible through the opening of the copper front of the altar. In the crypt, built in 1976 under the right apse, there is a Roman marble urn where it is said the supposed relics of Saint James were found.